There are four basic news release for any public relations campaign strategy, and depending on the campaign, you may need to use any combination of these. Incidentally, the news release is the basic tool of any campaign strategy, and some public relations campaigns can be conducted entirely with news releases.
The four types of news releases include:
- The Advance or Announcement
- The Backgrounder
- The Feature
- The Follow-up
Each of these news releases serve their specific function, though there is a caveat. The line between the backgrounder and feature can be fuzzy sometimes, just so you know. In this post, however, you will learn the difference between each of these news releases and given some insight into how they might be used in an overall public relations strategy. Let’s get started, shall we.
The Advance or Announcement: By far this format is the most used of the four, according to some of my colleagues. It’s used to announce (as it’s name is so apropos) some event or activity within your organization. It tends to be topical and time sensitive, and can be used for a number of reasons:
- Inform your constituents that your charitable organization will be holding a fund-raising gala.
- Take a position on an issue related to your organization. For example, if your business supports the education industry, and the legislature is passing a bill that may change public education, which may change the way business is done and cut your profits, using this type of release to bring the policy into the marketplace of ideas may help to raise the awareness of the general public and put pressure on elected officials to reconsider their position.
- Announce that your organization is conducting a free seminar, trainings session, etc, or to announce new acquisitions.
- Product announcements also fall into this category of news releases. Say your insurance company has devised a new type of policy compliant with new health care reform guidelines, a news release would tell the general public about the new program and spur new business.
While there are many more ways to use the advance and announcement news release, this should give your a basic idea of its scope.
The Backgrounder: This news release provides journalists and the public with detailed, in-depth information on an issue, your product, your service, your business, or your organization. And, this type of news release is usually issued as a stand-alone. By localizing the contents in a backgrounder, you tend to get journalists’ attention, and they are more apt to use the information. Using a backgrounder with the changing season is also a great way to extend and grab news coverage.
- For example, if your business is home improvement and landscaping, a campaign strategy might include quarterly news releases to give homeowners tips on maintaining their home’s interior and exterior with the changing seasons.
- Here’s another example for a service B-to-B. If you’re rolling out a new service, do it in the Spring. Because Spring is the season of renewal and growth, connecting your new service launch to the season my help get that angle you need for journalists to follow up.
Whatever your business, a public relations campaign strategy that uses seasonal backgrounders is almost a no brainer. However, here’s a caveat to using a background news release in any campaign. “Understand that some, perhaps even most, of the information included in a background news release may not end up in the story,” a former editor told me when I was a reporter. I’ve come to understand, as you should, “the real purpose of the backgrounder is to help put the overall story in perspective for reporters,” as one colleague put it. And, a backgrounder underscores how or why [a story] is important and why it deserves more or better coverage, another colleague tells us.
The Feature: Between the feature and the backgrounder, the distinguishing line gets a bit fuzzy. The most dynamic characteristics that separate one from the other are these: tone and people. Going back to my days as a journalist, the features I wrote were usually about people — local people my audience cared about. The feature as a news release isn’t much different. It is usually more people-centered and leans more on dramatic storytelling than the background news release. It’s tone can also be less formal, and the structure of the feature news release can be less rigid. In other words, it doesn’t have to follow the inverted pyramid style of the straight news and background news release.
Here are a few ways to use the feature news release in your public relations strategy:
- Highlight an employee who’s doing something special in the community.
- Nostalgia pieces are always good reads, and tying your product or service to some historic event may help you put it in context for journalists and readers. Not to mention, it might earn more ink for your company or organization, which is always good for branding.
- Write about a holiday and its significance to your company, industry or any part of your industry.
The feature news release has endless possibilities and is probably the most versatile news release for any campaign. As a former journalist, I can tell you that features which came across my desk got more attention than most, especially on slow news days. Features, along with backgrounder news releases help you feed the media and shape the news of the day. They also help you remain relevant and strengthen your brand without spending a butt load of money on advertising and marketing.
The Follow Up: Like any good story, there is an ending that ties up loose ends and brings things to a close, puts things to rest, gives the reader a sense of finality. That’s what the follow up does. It also gives you one more opportunity to get your company or organization’s name into the marketplace of ideas. Here are a few examples of how to use a follow up:
- Announce that you charity has reached its contribution goals for a fund raiser.
- Tell the community your company’s efforts toward resolving an issue have been met.
- Tell the community how your organization stands on an issue, what it has down toward that issue, and what is left to do.
While each of these news releases serve specific purposes, all of them should be used in a campaign or as part of any public relations strategy. Besides using these to become an authority on an issue of public concern, or to show how your organization is growing, helping people, and being a positive influence in a community, using these news releases will help earn free publicity for your organization and strengthen your brand.
